"There it is," Jake said after a few minutes of running, as a village appeared in the distance.
"How fast were we going? Everything was just a blur..." Renzo thought as the group gradually slowed to a stop.
Smoke rose into the air as they got closer. The scent of burning wood and ash hung heavily in the air.
"What happened...?" Min whispered, stunned, as they spotted corpses lying across the village grounds.
The silence was eerie. Homes were destroyed, the air thick with tension. The three stood frozen, staring at the devastation.
"Who did this?" Renzo asked, his voice shaking. Was it a Danchi beast… or a Danchi user?
"We'll know soon enough," Jake muttered, narrowing his eyes at a window where a curtain was hastily drawn shut. The three of them approached.
Knock, knock.
Jake rapped on the door. No answer.
"We know you're inside. Please open the door," he called, but silence persisted.
Jake exchanged glances with Renzo and Min, then placed his hand on the door.
Boom!
The door blasted open as they stepped inside.
"Stay back!" a man yelled, holding a knife in shaking hands. Behind him were his wife and two daughters, huddled in fear.
"Relax. We're not here to hurt you, we're from the nearby mercenary guild," Min said calmly.
"I don't remember any mercenary outpost nearby," the man muttered suspiciously. He was about to continue when Jake cut in.
"It's alright. We're here to help. What happened here?" Jake asked, getting to the heart of the matter.
"It was one of you… a Danchi user," the man said, still holding the knife defensively. Jake, Renzo, and Min exchanged stunned glances.
"A Danchi user?" they all thought, shocked.
"Yes. He wore black and had powers. He destroyed the village… killed most of us. How am I supposed to believe you're not the same?"
"If we were like him, we would've attacked already. You'd be dead," Renzo said sharply. "You're not scaring us but you're scaring your family."
The man turned and saw his wife trembling, his daughters on the verge of tears.
Before he could react, Min swiftly snatched the knife from his hand and set it on the table.
"Calm down," she said. "Tell us what really happened. We're here to help, we promise."
*******
A few minutes later…
Jake, Renzo, and Min sat at the table, listening quietly.
The story came out slowly.
A Danchi user had been gravely injured by a beast. Then, without warning, he turned on the villagers killing half the population before vanishing.
"But why?" Jake asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
"I don't know," the man said wearily. "It happened so fast. We couldn't react. Even if we did what could normal people like us do against Danchi users?"
"Do you think he was a forbidden Danchi user?" Min asked quietly, and Renzo's expression tensed.
"No. He looked normal. Even had the crest of the kingdom's army," the man replied.
Jake's face grew serious. "This is bad. I need to inform Lady Lucy." He stood and stepped outside, leaving Min and Renzo with the family.
"It's going to be okay," Min reassured them as the man sighed, exhausted.
Silence followed… until the man mumbled:
"Lucy…"
Min's ears perked up. "You know Lady Lucy?"
"I think I… she's the.."
Before he could finish, Jake burst back into the room.
"Hide your family. He's here," he said grimly. Renzo and Min followed him out.
********
Outside the village, a man in black clothing stood calmly, staring at the ruins.
Villagers who had survived were frozen, some trying to run, others too scared. But beyond the village walls lurked Danchi beasts certain death awaited them there too.
"What do you want?" Min called out.
"Why are you killing these people?" Renzo demanded.
"It's not something you need to know. Leave. Now," the man replied coldly.
"I'm from the Lucian Mercenary Guild," Jake said, stepping forward. "Lady Lucy is a Kindled Realm Danchi user. If she gets involved, you'll die."
The man laughed darkly. "Lucy? That chick? You're kidding."
He released his Danchi.
A massive wave of pressure exploded outward.
Jake, Min, and Renzo were all slammed to the ground.
"Kindled Realm…" Jake thought, his eyes wide.
"What is this pressure?" Min gasped.
Renzo's heart raced. "Is this… the difference between Ember Realm and Kindled Realm?"
"You two, stay with the villagers. I can still fight," Jake said, stepping forward.
"Teacher..."
"Instructor..."
Both Renzo and Min shouted, but Jake was already gone.
Boom!
Jake's punch landed squarely on the man's head… but there was no reaction. It was like punching mist.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jake launched several deadly attacks, none of them worked.
"You couldn't beat me at your full power and you're not even using your Danchi?" the man mocked. "Pathetic."
He struck Jake with a swift knee to the chest, sending him flying. Jake crashed into the ground, forming a crater.
Renzo and Min ran to him.
"Instructor, are you okay?" Renzo asked.
Min crouched beside him. "Please… let us help."
Jake stood up slowly, blood dripping down his face.
"I didn't use my Danchi because I was afraid," he admitted. "Afraid that once I used it… I'd die."
He looked at them both.
"But I can't let a talented kid like you die, Renzo. And you too, Min. I might not survive this… but stay back."
Jake stepped forward toward the man in black.
Renzo and Min were frozen shocked that he was willing to die for them. They barely knew each other.
Then suddenly...
A terrifying aura erupted from Jake. A green pulse surged around him. His eyes turned emerald, his veins glowing green. Wisps of smoke formed the shape of wind behind him. A low, rumbling roar echoed.
"Round two," Jake said.
The man in black smiled.
"Bring it on."
Pow!
Jake and the man clashed, generating shockwaves that tore through the air. The remaining buildings collapsed around them as the hidden survivors panicked and fled, running for their lives.
Boom! Boom!
Craters exploded in the ground as the two combatants blurred in and out of sight, their speed incomprehensible.
"This strength… I want it," Renzo thought, eyes wide with awe.
"With this power, I could get my revenge. I could kill those hypocrites," he mused, a small smile forming on his lips.
But first, they had to survive.
He needed to know where they were… and how to get back to the village he grew up in.
He would repay them.
A hundredfold.
*******************†****************†***************